It’s not exactly the controversy you would expect. At face value, the city of Berkeley’s proposal to fund its municipal employees’ sex-reassignment surgeries strikes us as pretty awesome. And, of course, it’s the sort of thing that’s guaranteed to get someone’s panties in a twist.

Lips indeed are flapping, but the predominant concern seems to be more financially motivated than anything else. Given that Berkeley is currently looking at a pretty hefty deficit for its benefits plans — to the tune of $252.8 million — the plan to apportion another $20,000 for reimbursing sex changes isn’t exactly something to sneeze at.

On the flip-side, gender reassignment surgery is expensive, difficult to secure and read more »